May 2017 Moms

Car seat configuration for two

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Re: Car seat configuration for two

  • pshaortaopshaortao member
    edited April 2017
    @pshaortao I'm sure that the install manual for my car seat said to use both, but I could be wrong, it's a moot point because I don't have the latch points. Different countries and different requirements though I suppose 

    eta: what is the minimum requirement there for RF I see a lot of people with 3yr olds who haven't turned them, my 3yr old barely fits in his FF seat as it is so just curious.
    Interesting. Like @NotAPlaya-JustCrushAlot said, most of America require to rearface until 1yo while some states have more recently upped to 2yo. Where I live its 1, but because its been proven how much safer RF is for kids under 4, I'm RFing DD until she hits the max on the seat. Our convertible seat max for RF is 49" and 40lb. Even though shes big for her age we still have a way to go! DH wants to turn her around because he feels she's too cramped but if she really hated it she would not be plopping her own self into the seat?

    ETA:
    @PartiallyDomesticated which carseat do you have where you think it says to use both latch and seatbelt? I'm curious and want to look it up. I don't  know anything about carseats in your country. I know carseats in Europe don't have a chest clip which totally baffle me 


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  • kat81kat81 member

    @kat81 I haven't read the rest after yours I just wanted to give you some options on cars (car based station wagons) 
    keep in mind I'm in a different country so names may be different there.
    I drive a Holden commodore, which comes in a manual station wagon (I have the sedan) they're Australian made and I believe sold in the US as a "Chevy SS" 
    Chevy Cruze should also come in a manual wagon
    Subaru Outback
    Subaru liberty (new models don't come in manual)
    Subaru Impreza (more of a hatch back than a wagon)
    Volvo do quite a few wagons and they are quite nice these days, although not manual. Mazda do a wagon version of a few sedans
    There are also a couple of options from VW, Audi, Mercedes, BMW etc, but these are obviously at a higher price range.
    I hate how hard finding a manual is now, drives me insane, just because other people can't drive doesn't mean nobody can drive!

    ------

    I plan to put DS2 behind the drivers seat and DS1 in his FF seat behind the passenger where he is now.
    Oh thank you so much for this. Though the subaru guy said that they haven't made manual outbacks in a LONG time. boo
    I think volvos are a bit pricey and I can't justify an expensive car when a cheap one will do just fine. So I'm definitely not getting an audi, bmw, etc. But we did find that the VW Golf wagon is reasonable when bought new, and totally the right size for us.
    Chevy was not at all on my radar so I'll look into that for sure.

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  • pshaortao said:
    @pshaortao I'm sure that the install manual for my car seat said to use both, but I could be wrong, it's a moot point because I don't have the latch points. Different countries and different requirements though I suppose 

    eta: what is the minimum requirement there for RF I see a lot of people with 3yr olds who haven't turned them, my 3yr old barely fits in his FF seat as it is so just curious.
    Interesting. Like @NotAPlaya-JustCrushAlot said, most of America require to rearface until 1yo while some states have more recently upped to 2yo. Where I live its 1, but because its been proven how much safer RF is for kids under 4, I'm RFing DD until she hits the max on the seat. Our convertible seat max for RF is 49" and 40lb. Even though shes big for her age we still have a way to go! DH wants to turn her around because he feels she's too cramped but if she really hated it she would not be plopping her own self into the seat?
    Wow, the recommendation here is to 12 months but only required till 6 months. It is also a height based system not weight.

    I find it amazing how different the requirements are by country, I mean here we had some of the safest SIDS guidelines, but it seems we are really lacking in car seat safety.
    Me - 22  |   DH - 32   |  Married - 24 May 2014
    DS - January 2014 
    TTC#2 - December 2015
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    TTCAL  |  April 2016
    CP  |  June 2016
    CP  |  July 2016
    BFP - 25 August 2016  |  Due Date - 11 May 2017
  • Our vehicle's manual (2015 Subaru Forester) specifically recommends not using the middle seat, so we'll leave DS RFing behind the driver's seat and put the base for DD behind the passenger seat.
  • Does anyone sit in the back when your partner is driving? I've done so since DS was born but then thinking of putting DS RF behind the passenger side and LO behind the driver's side, I won't be able to get to the middle seat. Our main family car is a GMC Yukon and I also thought about removing the 2nd row seat behind the passenger seat and installing the left 3rd row seat. Then DS Would be by himself in the 3rd row, LO in the middle 2nd row and me behind the driver seat. Then, we'd have the right side to fit the inline double stroller. However, once either H or I are alone, we'd have to reconfigure again. Ugh! Super frustrating.

    DS1 7/24/15

    DS2 5/7/17

  • @kat81 A quick thought on the VW sport wagon, it doesn't really work with RF Diono seats. A lot of newer German cars and wagons with fold down back seats have a funny design and where you would have to insert that "foot" thing for Dionos isn't at the base of the seat but up about an inch or two which makes the seat recline insane and you have to scoot the front seat damn near up to the dash. 

    I ended up going with a BMW that has the same back seats and had to switch out my Radian for a Britax (clicktight is the shit!) , so just keep an eye on that. I don't know of other seats that have that funny thing you have to wedge in the seats when RF except the Diono but it was a weird problem we kept seeing. 

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  • @cherrybananas here is the Nissan SnugKids for my car.  Specifically states DO NOT PLACE CRS (child restraint system) in middle position.  Can only use outboard. 

    https://www.nissanusa.com/content/dam/nissan/pdf/owning/snugkids-english/2016/nissan-rogue-no-3rd-row.pdf


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  • @mrsrep123 with our first I sat in back for awhile. With my second I didn't have room to sit in the middle. I Think the only time I did was on the way home from the hospital. We did what you were thinking which is put ds1 in the 3rd row. He's 4 and loves it!!!! He feels like a big boy and we made a big deal about it. But we still have ds2 in the middle behind driver and then this guy will go in the middle behind passenger. You run out of room fast! We just got a Ford Flex last year and we love it! But if we ever had another baby I don't think we could fit the stroller after reconfiguring everyone. 

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  • kat81kat81 member
    @kat81 A quick thought on the VW sport wagon, it doesn't really work with RF Diono seats. A lot of newer German cars and wagons with fold down back seats have a funny design and where you would have to insert that "foot" thing for Dionos isn't at the base of the seat but up about an inch or two which makes the seat recline insane and you have to scoot the front seat damn near up to the dash. 

    I ended up going with a BMW that has the same back seats and had to switch out my Radian for a Britax (clicktight is the shit!) , so just keep an eye on that. I don't know of other seats that have that funny thing you have to wedge in the seats when RF except the Diono but it was a weird problem we kept seeing. 
    This is very interesting info. But our Diono is used with our oldest child, and so we don't do it RF. In fact I think we NEVER used it RF because back when DS was 1 the carseat recommendations were different so we just flipped him FF at about 18 mo when he graduated to the diono he still uses. Our 3.5 yr old, though, still rear faces in her foonf. It has been a huge pain to move these carseats around as I have tried out various cars at dealerships, but the foonf has held up quite well in these situations in that even though it is a TALL seat and RF, it fits just fine in all of the cars we've tried. I'm sure the golf could be a challenge, though, which is why I'm eager to try it out.

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  • kat81kat81 member
    mrsrep123 said:
    Does anyone sit in the back when your partner is driving? I've done so since DS was born but then thinking of putting DS RF behind the passenger side and LO behind the driver's side, I won't be able to get to the middle seat. Our main family car is a GMC Yukon and I also thought about removing the 2nd row seat behind the passenger seat and installing the left 3rd row seat. Then DS Would be by himself in the 3rd row, LO in the middle 2nd row and me behind the driver seat. Then, we'd have the right side to fit the inline double stroller. However, once either H or I are alone, we'd have to reconfigure again. Ugh! Super frustrating.
    I forgot about this. One of us did used to sit in the back when DS was a newborn. And we might do that coming back from the hospital with this one (I believe we did with DD). But for that to happen we'll have to move the rest of the seats as they are all taken right now!

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  • Some things to keep in mind:

    RF weight limits can be the sum of the child's weight and the seat's weight, not just the child's weight. Car seat manual will state what the correct determination is. 

    A center seat install often can not use LATCH as some car seats don't allow borrowing from outboard LATCH systems when the vehicle is t equipped with a center LATCH. But it's not always the seat limits that dictate no outboard borrowing, as your vehicle might not allow for this even if your car seat does. So check your car manual as well when installing a car seat. 

    My town's Police Department has 3 certified car seat safety technicians, and town citizens can utilize their services at no charge by appointment. So call around and ask. And have both your car seat and vehicle manuals present for the technician. 




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  • @kat81 we have a VW GTI (upgraded Golf but same body style). It fits two seats outboard and has enough trunk space for the stroller. We love the car and will have it as long as possible. highly suggest it.

    Our other car is a BMW i3 and the seat in that car is huge, it's a clek fllo so I have to sit in the back, which means only one kid can travel in that car at a time. I actually like sitting in the back with DD so we can hold hands and talk and play. It keeps her way calmer and is less distracting for the driver
  • skeetiedskeetied member
    edited April 2017
    I have a Honda Accord and we'll be doing three across (2 x Diono Radian RXT, 1 x Chicco Keyfit 30).  It will be DD (baby), DS1 (FF), and DS2 (RF).  My husband drives an older Accord with two Chicco Nextfits (one RF and one FF).  We'll just leave those as is and DS1 could (maybe?) squeeze in between in a RideSafer travel vest if we would take that car for some reason with all three of them.  Usually he only has one kid at a time.  We also have the new body style Pilot and that will be DS2 (RF in another Radian RXT) in the 2nd row passenger side (or whichever side is the 60 side, I forget) with DD right next to him and DS1 in a Britax Frontier 90 in the third row.
    Feb 2012:  DS1 born 40w2d, 7 lb 11 oz, 20"
    May 2014:  DS2 born 40w3d, 10 lb, 23"

    Due May 2017 with DD1!
  • kat81kat81 member
    @kat81 we have a VW GTI (upgraded Golf but same body style). It fits two seats outboard and has enough trunk space for the stroller. We love the car and will have it as long as possible. highly suggest it.

    Our other car is a BMW i3 and the seat in that car is huge, it's a clek fllo so I have to sit in the back, which means only one kid can travel in that car at a time. I actually like sitting in the back with DD so we can hold hands and talk and play. It keeps her way calmer and is less distracting for the driver
    I just did a test drive of the golf wagon and liked it a lot! It's one of the few wagons that actually feels like a car, not an SUV. The seats were a tight fit but I *think* they got in there safely.

    The clek fllo is huge but narrow. We have the foonf and it's basically the same (though apparently the fllo is lighter...I wish we had gotten that one.) I know these are big when RF but we are able to fit ours behind the driver without a problem somehow.

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